Signature School directors exploring options for expansion

Number of student applicants exceed slots available

DENNY SIMMONS / Courier &amp; Press
(FILE PHOTO) Signature School students spread out as needed to make themselves comfortable as they study in the halls.

DENNY SIMMONS

EVANSVILLE - A period of charmed existence for Evansville's Signature School — a time when the number of applicants equaled the number of available spaces — is over, according to John Whinrey, secretary of the school's board of directors.

Options such as an expansion, a second Signature School and even a new middle school were tossed around Tuesday morning during a directors' meeting. They were looking for ways to provide opportunities to students who apply to attend Signature but aren't admitted because of the limited number of open spots.

Currently, about 60 students are on a waitlist, but with a total enrollment of 338, executive director Jean Hitchcock said the school is at capacity. And additional options to accommodate more students is a topic that Signature staff has casually discussed before, said Hitchcock.

"I think people are torn on one hand to have parents call and students upset because they can't get in, and we'd like to accommodate that, but right now at this number we all know each other, and we don't want to lose that sense of connection," she said. "But I do think it's worth examining."

If the number of applicants exceeds the number of spots available at Signature, the charter school is forced to hold a lottery. In mid-January, one was held for this fall's incoming freshman class because out of 142 applicants, there were only 70 spots available at that time. And within the school's charter, siblings are automatically admitted.

Officials explained there's simply not much movement. Typically when students get in, they stay for the remainder of their high school career.

Whinrey hopes officials face the question of what can be done to include more students.

"My hope would be that we're an example for other schools — sort of like a bright light or beacon," he said.

Robert Koch II, president of Signature's board of directors, asked Tuesday for faculty and staff to meet and discuss options for the continuously growing school and then report back at the directors' next meeting, date to be announced. Board member Sharon Kazee advised to "tread lightly" because there is a domino effect to expansion — needing more space and additional faculty — which causes an infrastructure change.

Other items discussed at the meeting included:

n Through "growing pains" and moving forward in an effort to continually better the school, Hitchcock felt Dixon's position as a second administrator was needed. Dixon's responsibilities include a combination of the guidance office, college and career and chief diversity officer. There is no extra cost for the position, funds were reallocated.

Dixon has been a teacher at Signature since 2001, before it was a charter school, and taught psychology, multicultural America and IB psychology.

"It just seemed part of what we do here," Dixon said about applying for the position. "It's just stepping into a different way to work on building the school."

n A new hybrid course, covering either macroeconomics or microeconomics, will be offered at Signature this fall, taught by Joe Nelson. The majority of class content will be online, with a once-a-week meeting component after school for additional activities and reviews.

"One of the biggest concerns when we talked about it last year was that missing piece of the teacher being there, the teacher being able to push a little bit or being able to reinforce," Nelson said. "And by making it a hybrid, where they come in after school, provides more enrichment."

The class opened for enrollment Monday, and there is no extra fee for students to take it. As of Tuesday morning, there were 24 students signed up, 12 in both macroeconomics and 12 in microeconomics.

n Signature's first day of school for the 2013-14 school year is Monday.